Here’s the quick version: WWE finally had a chance to renew their television rights after years of saying they were gonna double them. Everyone bought stock. Turns out WWE’s new deal with NBCUniversal only increased their percentage by a quarter — half of what they were asking/bragging for — and whoops, folks didn’t like that. Via Forbes:

“We estimate management negotiated a +50% increase on the Company’s domestic TV rights Fees with NBCUniversal, meaningfully below the guided multiple of 2X to 3X,” wrote Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey in a note Friday morning. Quoting Hulk Hogan – ”To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong” — Hickey downgraded WWE’s rating from a buy to a hold and cut its price target from $29.12 to $19.96.

“The company’s valuation could take a heavy beating this morning, as the new domestic TV deal with NBCU likely disappointed investors over limited visibility and believability on the ultimate success of the network,” Hickey said.

On top of the underwhelming TV deal, WWE needs 1.3-1.4 million subscribers to the WWE Network and so far has only brought in about 670,000. Jerks like me signed up the second it was available, yeah, but how do you get average, non-wrestling-obsessive people interested in old Great American Bash pay-per-views? So far the Network’s big plays have been “a reality show about old wrestlers” and “recommend this to your friends and we’ll give you gift cards.”

So what does this mean for you, the person who watches wrestling but doesn’t necessarily care about the stock market? To put it in very visible wrestling character terms:

The stock’s losses have also had a body-blow impact to Vince McMahon’s personal wealth: according to the FORBES real time wealth tracker, McMahon has lost $357 million, nearly a third of his fortune, since Thursday’s closing bell.

I just hope this doesn’t affect all our favourites and their salaries :( they didn’t deserve this. the current WWE roster is better than it’s been in forever, or very near that. nothing but bad booking prevents it from clearly being known as that.

You hit the nail on the head with the joke about getting people interested in old Great American Bash PPVs.

The WWE “Network” launched with effectively zero original programming. Their “studio show” shouldn’t be “coming soon” — it should have been Day 1 — and the severe lack of Raw + Smackdown is just awful. I’m a subscriber, but it’s only for the PPV events. Not only do I save $50+ a month by switching to the network, but I dropped DirecTV, too. If they want to attract anybody other than people like me or you, though, they need to put A LOT more effort into programming.

I like watching the old PPVs from when I was a youngster and follow along with the storylines in chronological order……I just wish they had the Raws from that time as well so I could bridge stuff between the PPVs. Hopefully soon.

That is my biggest complaint about the network. Wish they could show the Raws and Smackdowns a few days later. Then I wouldn’t need cable. Other than that I just watch NXT and the PPV on the network or the occasional rewind show or Legends show after NXT.

Maybe this will finally persuade Vince that having Jerry Lawler slowly explain things to the camera and having the Bella Twins say things are hot are not the fool-proof sales techniques he seems to think they are. Neither is “All the Alex Riley you can eat!!”

But, yeah, I also bought the Network on day one. Honestly, the hassle-free (and legal) streaming of PPVs and NXT is worth $9.99 a month to me.

One big problem I see (with a lot of stuff they do) is that they’re a product marketed to kids now. That works well and good for toy sales and stuff, but when it comes to something like this where only fans with a valid credit card can sign up, suddenly the kids aren’t so useful. My nephew wanted the network, and my sister said “no I’m not paying for that”. Same with my cousin.

Every older fan I know has the network, but from what I’ve seen a lot of parents aren’t willing to pay a monthly fee for their kid to watch MORE wrestling (most think their kids watch too much to begin with) and.

I feel like the solution to WWE Network problems would be if it was available in other countries…maybe a few of us Canadians and Europeans would enjoy it.

When you banked so much of your companies value on the success of that network, launching it before you had availability everywhere seems asinine…sure more subscriptions are coming when they sign those people up, but the damage is already being done.

Well yeah that’s because he doesn’t have the brains of a Rockstar Spud. If ONO JW2’s proved anything it’s that Rockstar Spud is the smartest person on the planet which is obvious seeing as he belongs to the Gods of the Universe, those which mere mortals call Brummies.

If the stock keeps dropping, I might have to get into buynig a share and make some money when it bounces back.

If the WWE wants more subscribers, make it available to more than one country. It’s not available in Canada, Ireland, Britain, Australia or any Asian countries. Make it available to them, and they’d easily get 1.4 million.

Obviously they’d make the Network available in other countries if there wasn’t some legal reason related to either the rights of the MLB-owned software (or whatever it is) they are using or something along those lines.

Considering Vince only became a billionaire again thanks to the CRAZY boost in the stock with the Network hype, I don’t see this drop as that big of a deal. I think investors were a little crazy in overestimating how quickly the Network would take off and inflated the price, and now they’re panicking and have tanked the price. Give it some time and the Network will keep building slowly and the stock will do the same.

The 2K deal has resulted in far lower royalties for the WWE, which in turn is bringing the wrestler’s royalties way down. Real bummer for those guys, as for many of them it’s a significant part of their income.

“but how do you get average, non-wrestling-obsessive people interested in old Great American Bash pay-per-views?”

Well, you don’t. Because wrestling is fake. And only the tools that believe that it’s not fake signed up on day 1. The rest of us could seriously not care less. It’s a bunch of muscled-up actors. Period. Perhaps the most idiotic form of “entertainment” ever. It plays well in the trailer parks, but beyond that? Yeah, not so much, unless you’re 12.

I know it’s hard to call someone who is still worth $714 Million an idiot, but Vince is an idiot. WWE saw all these sports get massive TV deals, some completely unprecedented like the ones NBC Sports signed with the English Premier League and NASCAR, and thought it was a sign of the times.

What he failed to realize is that there is an arms race going on between Fox and NBC which have a brand new and fledgling sports network respectively and are trying to compete in an unfair playing ground with ESPN. They needed content and live sports is the best content ratings wise for sports network.

Vince can call it SPORTS entertainment all he wants, but it’s wrasslin. ESPN, FS1 and NBC Sports ain’t coming through that door with a bidding war so you’re going to take what you can get. Yes, your TV rights are worth more today than they were several years ago, but you aren’t exactly in high demand.

He is still worth 750,000,000 it’s not like he is homeless! He’s been their before, he’ll bounce back. That’ s what happens in entertainment and let’s face it that is what WWE is. Wrestling is what they do in college it ‘s not scripted their are no storylines like WWE. So please don’t call it a Sport you will ruin the only thing I enjoy watching that’s entertaining on TV , besides Diner’s dive-ins , and drives on Food Network. I ordered the Network to the first day I love it . I watch it while I’m watching Raw and Smackdown. Forget the cable company’s they jacked their prices up to 60.00 dollars for the Pay Per views now . I’ve already watched 2 for 20.00. They just have to sell it better . To be honest I’ve never watched one Episode of Legend’s House. I got it for the matches and the different Pay Per Views . It’s nobody’s fault . Entertainment is a rough business.

If they were able to put up Smackdown and Raw on the network the subscribers would go up. If I were Vince. I’d make it 15 monthly, have the 8 minor ppvs free , but offer the major 4 ppvs to subscribers at a discounted price.

Remember that time when the Mega Millions was up to just under a billion dollars and I said “I will buy WWE and then I’ll fix things”. Well I didn’t win the lottery, but at this rate WWE value is going down to my price range.